The real surprise is how many people still feed their cats Cat Chow or Meow Mix.
The New York Times has a recent article about the trend towards super-premium, incredibly expensive cat and dog foods being brought to market. They are produced by small companies like Weruva and Tiki Cat, and include ridiculously delicious-sounding names and flavors, with whole food ingredients that are often marked "human grade."
I might be inclined to laugh at this silly article and the silly people in it. Except that I buy that stuff, now, too.
I have an older cat - almost 17 - and he has become picky in his golden years. But you know what? He goes mad for Tiki Cat and Fussie Cat. These are both preposterously expensive, tiny little cans of stuff that honestly I could totally see myself spreading on a cracker. Today for lunch I literally fed myself and my cat the same dollar amount of food. He got a 2.8 ounce can of Fussie Cat "Tuna and mussels in aspic" (89 cents), and I fixed myself a box of Kraft Mac & Cheese (5 for a dollar).
In my case, it's kind of a medical issue. But here's the thing: once you give your cat a can of the super-premium stuff, he doesn't want to go back to the usual glop and crunchies that you used to feed him. Can you blame him? This stuff is delicious, and it smells absolutely atrocious, which seems to be a big part of the appeal for the cats.
One thing I have learned from watching "It's Me or the Dog" on Animal Planet is how many middle-class and wealthier families feed their pets regular people food. You can understand why: real food is better than the pre-packaged mass market stuff for pets the same as it is for us.
If you had the time and resources and money, why not? And as long as you're willing to feed your pet a really wholesome food, why not save yourself the time to cook it and just buy a flat of Tiki Cat instead? At least you know it's healthy for them (unlike some of the stuff I see people dump into their pet's bowls). And it's been super-charged with vitamins and minerals they need. Cats in particular need to have taurine as a supplement or they can experience severe health effects.
The real surprise is how many people still feed their cats Cat Chow or Meow Mix. That stuff is garbage, and if you look at the serving size (which is huge, because the food is full of sawdust) it's the same price as much better food. Especially after the melamine disaster from a few years ago - why risk it?